Barack Obama: The Most Anti-Business President EVAH!

“I put this question to a series of business leaders, all of whom were expansive on the topic yet did not want to be quoted by name, for fear of offending people in Washington.”

Jack Welch actually has nothing to do with this article other than being a former CEO. I just put his picture up because he’s awesome.

I was talking to a friend the other day that was looking for work, wondering where the jobs were. Companies, at least in theory, are sitting on money, but aren’t using it to hire or expand their businesses…and this goes for giant evil corporations as well as small businesses.

The problem is that the companies are afraid to expand because they don’t know what comes next from who many are considering an “anti-business President.” It’s not just the usual suspects like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich saying it. It’s the people who run these businesses, who are afraid to speak up out of fear of Washington retribution…

One CEO told me, “Almost every agency we deal with has announced some expansion of its authority, which naturally makes me concerned about what’s in store for us for the future.” Another pointed out that between the health-care bill, financial reform and possibly cap-and-trade, his company had lawyers working day and night to figure out the implications of all these new regulations. Lobbyists have been delighted by all this activity. “[Obama] exaggerates our power, but he increases demand for our services,” superlobbyist Tony Podesta told the New York Times.

Most of the business leaders I spoke to had voted for Barack Obama. They still admire him. Those who had met him thought he was unusually smart. But all think he is, at his core, anti-business. When I asked for specifics, they pointed to the fact that Obama has no business executives in his Cabinet, that he rarely consults with CEOs (except for photo ops), that he has almost no private-sector experience, that he’s made clear he thinks government and nonprofit work are superior to the private sector. It all added up to a profound sense of distrust.

Before this gets dismissed as conservative propaganda, neither Fareed Zakaria or the Washington Post will ever be confused with being “center-right.” Give the whole article a read.

I will say anyone shocked that President Obama “…thinks government and nonprofit work are superior to the private sector,” apparently wasn’t paying much attention during 2008